| Mark Hackathorn will be remembered
in many different ways, by many different people and the multitude of
lives he touched. He'll be remembered through the loving eyes of
his wife, Annesley, and two sons, Connor, 22, and Austin, 21.
He'll be remembered for his compassion and genuineness. And for
the 14-month battle he fought against esophageal cancer, with both a
positive and brave demeanor until it took his life at the age of 62 on
June 11, 2014. The community gathered to celebrate his life at
Community United Methodist Church on June 14. Born in Kansas
City, Hackathorn, who many knew simply as "Hack," lived in Virginia
Beach for 43 years and resided in the Acredale section of Kempsville.
Although a transplant to Hampton Roads after a brief stint in the
Navy, he quickly established his roots when he opened the Tidewater
K-9 Academy in 1974 in Chesapeake. "Mark had such a positive
connection and understanding of dogs since he was a little boy," said
Annesley. "His philosophy was 'Training is your dog's best friend,' as
he believed a properly trained dog was a happy, confident dog and
training enhanced the human/dog relationship." The dogs - of
which there were thousands throughout the years - learned from the
kind, soft-spoken man with a coy smile. As a master trainer,
Mark connected with the dogs and developed an understanding of canine
psychology and behavior, which he turned into positive dog training
techniques, combining mutual respect and understanding. He
designed his training program to teach owners to better understand
canine behavior. He called his program "The Ultimate in
Training." "Mark jokingly would tell people, 'I do not charge
anything to train dogs, just people,' " Annesley said. And along
that same vein, Annesley recalled the time shortly after he
established CARES (Canine Assisted Rehabilitation & Education
Services) in 2012, when an abandoned pit bull mix was dropped off at
his kennel. "The dog was skittish and filthy," Annesley said.
"Mark rescued the dog and trained it to be a Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder support dog for a retired single mother. Mark used to say,
there is no such thing as a bad dog, only bad owners." Through
CARES, he trained diabetic alert dogs (they can sense and alert Type 1
diabetics of their high and low sugar levels), autism support dogs and
PTSD service dogs. To date, CARES, which will continue to
operate, has trained more than 35 dogs, thanks to Hackathorn and his
team. At home, the Hackathorns enjoyed breeding and owning
Goldendoodles, many of which have become service dogs. Aside
from his love of family, friends and dogs, Hackathorn loved nature,
fishing and golf. But no matter where he went, his license plate,
"K9XPERT," always showed his true love. Deanna and Chad Fisher,
of Myrtle Beach, first met Hackathorn during a search for a service
dog for their 9-year-old son, Grant, who has severe autism.
"Mark was so empathetic to our needs and feeling for our son," Deanna
Fisher said. They adopted Tala, one of the first autism
Golden-doodles trained through CARES. "Mark gave us peace of
mind that Tala was going to provide the companionship Grant needed as
well as tending to his safety and sensory needs," Deanna said.
After a year and a half of intense training, Tala went home with the
Fishers in May 2013. Deanna recalled asking Hackathorn how he could
have Tala for so long and be able to give her away to another family.
"He replied by saying she had a better purpose with Grant and he knew
Tala would make Grant's life better," Fisher said. That's just
how Hackathorn's sons, Connor and Austin, remember their father, too.
"He had one of the biggest hearts of anyone I've ever known and his
same caring, selfless attitude burns bright inside Austin," said
Connor. "My dad's last accomplishment was transforming my
brother and me into the well-rounded men that we are today." |
